Circuit
by Makanui
Summary: Solomon Alder isn't your every day trainer. His goal isn't to go out and face different regional Pokemon Leagues, he wants to get one started in his home town. With his trusted Infernape, he tries to accomplish his dream and gain fame in televised one-on-one Circuits. His adventure isn't the typical pokemon journey, but it is a journey.
1. A different Kind of World

**For those who enjoyed my first posted story, I'm sorry to say I'm going to be changing my focus to this one. The other story followed the same path we see others face all the time. They go through the league, learn a lot, and eventually come up short. We've seen it done time and time again. Then, as I was preparing my fourth chapter, I realized that there is so much that has yet to be explored in the Pokémon world. There is so much more than just taking on the Pokémon League.**

 **So that's where Circuit comes in. It follows the protagonist as he and his trusty Pokémon go through Circuit battles in order to claim dominance and power. These tournaments pay a good amount of money and allows him to network and strive for his goal of starting a league in his own region (which is a made up one for the sake of the story). Of course there will be adventure and all of the things you love about the Pokémon universe, but I'm twisting reality a bit and bringing you into my world. I hope you enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter** **One: A Different Kind of World**

* * *

 _"I think - whether it's music, literature, sport, art, whatever you want - there's nobody who can stop us if we only apply ourselves with the singular objective of being the best in the world."_

Enda Kenny

* * *

"And there it is, Blaze is activated!"

The crowd went wild upon seeing the flame on the flame pokemon's head erupt, increasing his Fire-Type moves by a considerable amount. With one fist on the ground and another over the white fur on his stomach, the infernape prepared to give it his all.

The infernape's trainer appeared to be a boy roughly seventeen years old. His clothing style closing resembled that of his infernape: a white t-shirt with golden swirls, brown pants, white shoes, and blue fingerless gloves. On his head was a cap that was orange and red, almost resembling fire.

"How will this exciting battle come to an end?" the announcer continued.

The infernape took a step forward, and steeled himself for what was to come. He wasn't alone. He never felt alone. Not with Solomon in his corner. The two of them had been inseparable ever since the day they met. They traveled Sinnoh together, challenging the gyms and trying to compete in the Sinnoh League.

They travelled to the Kanto Region, the Hoenn Region as well. They learned so much in their travels. But neither of them ever dreamt of doing more than that. Until Solomon had a new dream. The infernape shared his passion for it and accepted Solomon for who he was.

The two of them weren't the only ones with aspirations. They had goals, but so did everyone else. And one of those people stood before them now. Another boy, though he was a little younger. He wore a teal shirt and dark blue shorts. Standing before him was his gliscor.

"You can do this Natsu!" Solomon called out to his infernape. "The Sandstorm finally let up, so we can end this quickly!"

"Thanks to you using Toxic on yourself, you've completely healed. Finish this up with Guillotine!"

Biff shot forward, he looked just as fresh now as he did at the beginning of the battle. Natsu was covered in sand still and wasn't moving so well. He had taken some hits during the raging storm and ended up getting poisoned as well. His breathing was rough, but his intense stare showed that he wasn't ready to give in just yet.

"Use Acrobatics to dodge it and then use Fire Blast! Let's take advantage of Blaze!"

Just as Biff's claw was about to clamp onto Natsu, he flipped through the air, over Biff's head, and fired a torrent of fire that seemed to break off into multiple streams.

"Watch out!" Mathis cried out, but it was too late and Biff had taken the brunt of the attack. He winced in pain, but he was still going strong. Thanks to his Poison Heal ability, some of the damage from the blast started to heal already. "He's still dangerous, so let's get Sandstorm started back up!"

"Natsu-" — Solomon called out. Upon hearing his name, the infernape landed on the ground and charged forward. — "use Blaze Kick!"

Just as the Sandstorm started to pick up, Natsu flipped through the air once more and attempted to kick Biff on the top of his head. His leg hit nothing but air (and sand) and his attack crashed into the ground, picking up debris.

"Finish this with Sand Tomb!"

"Get away from-"

Natsu cried out in pain as the sand wrapped around him and started crushing his body. The tomb of sand let up and he dropped to the ground, his body limp. The raging Sandstorm let up to reveal Biff standing a little ways behind him. Solomon ran over to his fallen partner and lifted his head to place it on his lap.

"You did great, buddy. Go ahead and rest."

The crowd erupted in cheers. Biff and Mathis both raised up their arms in victory and then embraced each other happily. It hadn't been an easy victory for them, and based on Solomon's past with Mathis, he knew this was the first Circuit he had ever won.

Returning Natsu to his pokeball, Solomon made his way over the Mathis. "It was a great battle. We will have to pay you back next time."

The two of them shook hands and the crowd erupted again. The announcer had been drowned out for the most part, but his voice was finally gaining ground once more.

"Mathis has won this Circuit and will move on to the next stage! We look forward to seeing how well he competes with the other Circuit winners in the future!"

* * *

Although he was used to it, the hotel room was lonely. He had travelled with other trainers in the past, but they no longer saw eye to eye. They chose to continue taking on the various Pokemon Leagues around the world. They wanted more adventure than he did.

It was hard to explain to them that he wanted to get a Pokemon League started in his own region, Sceles. His dream was to simply be a gym leader or a member of the Elite Four, using Fighting-Type pokemon. Natsu would naturally be his ace.

His dream wasn't an easy one though. He needed money. Lots of money. And he needed more cooperation from the Pokemon Association. They didn't see any reason for a League in Seles, but he still fought for it. He originally had partners, others from Seles, but they eventually abandoned the idea.

Solomon tightly gripped Natsu's pokeball, staring at the fire engraving at the top of it intently. He had almost won today. It would have been his first Circuit victory since starting them. That was another thing he needed. Being someone well known would surely help his goal.

Suddenly there was a knock at the door. He wasn't expecting it, so he he was caught off guard and almost fell from his bed. He quickly collected his composure and walked across the room and opened the door. "Can I help you?"

Standing there was a man that he recognized from the Circuit. His expensive suit and shiny dress shoes were all Solomon needed to see to know that this man was probably one of its sponsors. "I just wanted to let you know that I was impressed today, kid. Your opponent had an advantage over you the entire time and you never let up. You have real heart."

Solomon didn't want to sound rude, but he couldn't help but respond honestly. "I lost today. So heart really doesn't account for much. What exactly are you trying to do, anyway?

The man laughed. "I just don't want to see a talent, such as yourself, quit doing Circuits. I saw you were down, understandably so I might add, and I wanted to give you some encouragement. You and that infernape are quite the pair."

Solomon still didn't understand the visit, but he accepted what he was told. He was always cautious of people, but he was always willing to give them a chance and hear them out. He didn't want to show others that he didn't trust them, especially someone like this man who had the money and the power to help him achieve his goal.

"Natsu and I have no intention on quitting the Circuits. We need to keep competing until we are able to face the champion."

The man looked into the room for just a moment, but went back to staring into Solomon's eyes. He was clearly waiting to be invited in. "What if I told you that I could get you just that?"

Solomon considered his words, but having noticed the man acting strange decided that the conversation had reached its end. "I'm sorry, but we aren't ready for that. Natsu and I will earn our right to battle him, no need for shortcuts."

The man didn't react to any of it. For a moment, Solomon thought he may have offended the man. He felt perhaps this man was truly genuine and that he had missed a huge opportunity. "The proposition stands. I can see you're a little preoccupied, so we can continue this conversation later." The man walked away without a word.

Solomon watched him walk all the way to the end of the hall and turn down the direction of the elevators. He slammed the door shut and took in a deep breath. His heart was pounding and his stomach was churning. His body clearly felt something was off about that man, so he was happy to have ended the conversation so easily.

He learned long ago that some people were thugs, no matter what their social status was. For all he knew, the man wanted to come in and steal Natsu. It wouldn't be the first time someone has tried. It probably wouldn't be the last. The world wasn't so kind and because of his past experiences he was always alert and on guard around other people.

As he started to stand, there was another knock on the door. This one much lighter than the business man's knock. He didn't want to open the door this time. He wanted to just ignore whoever this was and just move on. Another knock, this time a little harder.

He slowly opened the door to see a familiar face. He then opened the door all the way. "Come on in," he said happily.

Mathis made his way in and the two of them sat on his bed. Mathis stared at the ground, twirling his fingers in the process. "Did the man in the suit visit you tonight?"

"Yes, he just left actually. What's wrong?"

"Well, there was something strange about him. He started offering me a battle with the Circuit champ and trying whatever he could to get me to trust him. At least it felt that way. Something wasn't genuine about the way he talked."

Solomon understood exactly how he felt. He had the same feeling about the man and didn't really know how to label him.

"I actually looked into him. He isn't a part of the Pokemon Association. Nor is he part of the staff of the Circuit. I just wanted to tell you to watch your back. I know you only travel with Natsu, so things could get dangerous for you."

"I appreciate the concern, but me and Natsu will be fine. I'm almost positive that he was just a thief. He lost his chance to steal from us, so he is going to move on."

Mathis' face went white. "I thought the same thing until I saw others following me. That's why I came to your room."

Solomon thought about it for a moment. "Maybe we should travel together for a little while. That way we can have each other's backs. I bet Natsu and Biff can take all of them on at once."

"I'm afraid that is incorrect," the voice of the man in the suit came from behind them. They both turned around to see him standing on the other side of the bed.

"How did you get in here!?" Solomon panicked, grabbing Natsu's pokeball.

Mathis didn't hesitate and had Biff's pokeball in hand as well. "Why are you following me? What is it you're after?"

The man in the suit started laughing hysterically. "Im not after anything."

There was pounding on the door. Both Solomon and Mathis jumped in surprise. Solomon made his way over to the door to see three other men in suit's standing there, waiting to get in. The man that was in the room started laughing hysterically again. When Solomon turned back to see him, he was gone.

"I only looked away for a second," Mathis proclaimed. "What is going on here!?"

Solomon looked through the peeping hole again and saw no one. He was drenched in sweat. His heart was racing. He knew Natsu wasn't rested enough to take on four trainers at once, and if he had to make a guess, he would say Biff wasn't either. "Maybe we should call the police."

More pounding on the door followed by hysterical laughter. Then a cold response. "Contact anyone and no one will ever find you again."

The two of them felt like caged animals. And given the threat, plus the ability for the man in the suit to just enter the room, they didn't dare contact anyone. Neither of them said another word. There was nothing they could say. They needed to wait long enough for Natsu and Biff to be recovered. Until then, they would have to accept whatever fate fell upon them.

* * *

 **As you can tell, this is a different kind of story and a different kind of world. But let me say this, there is nothing that is planned for this story. Everything I write will be from the top of my head. It kind of let's me get all of these silly, psychological, and horror based concepts out. So I ended this on a cliffhanger. I hope you enjoyed this, because I sure did.**


	2. To Catch an Imposter

**Welcome to chapter two. In the first chapter we saw the conclusion of a battle between Solomon and Mathis. After that the two of them spent a night being harassed by som mysterious person that seemed to have the ability to enter their hotel room without being detected. Without further ado, let'a get see how this ordeal pans out.**

* * *

 **Chapter Two: To Catch an Imposter**

* * *

It had been a long night. They tried to take shifts for sleep, but every time one of them did finally fall asleep, the door would be pounded on. They didn't know what to do, at least not yet. Once morning came, they would battle their way out of the situation. Getting to that point was the hard part.

"Are you ready?" Mathis asked. His eyes were bloodshot and he staggered as he stood up. Clearly he was exhausted.

"Yes. It's finally time for us to fight back," Solomon responded.

The two of them went directly toward the door and peeped through the hole. There was no one out there. Their tormentors seemingly disappeared. They looked at each other as Solomon gripped the doorknob. Mathis nodded his head in agreement, holding onto Biff's pokeball.

Solomon slowly turned the knob, then threw the door open. The two of them charged into the hallway, Mathis releasing Biff immediately. There was no one to be found. The hallway seemed abandoned, as if no had been there the entire night.

"They are gone. We need to go to the police station right away."

"Right."

The two of them hurried out of the hotel into the less than busy streets of Celadon City. It was early in the morning and the shops hadn't opened yet. Anyone that was up at this hour was probably gambling in the newly constructed casino.

The two of them hurried down the street, watching every alley along the way. Checking behind them in paranoia, they saw no one. And when they did see a random pedestrian, they panicked for a moment before realizing that they were over reacting. The threat of never being seen again was too real.

The police station was finally in sight, the two of them sighing in relief. Then, something caught their eye. The man that had knocked on their doors was exiting the police station. He looked in their direction and went straight toward them. Both trainers froze, unable to move from fear.

As he approached, Solomon decided that he wasn't going to just sit by and let himself be kidnapped. He grabbed Natsu's pokeball and tossed it into the air. A white light radiated momentarily before the brown, white, and gold flame pokemon appeared. The man didn't stop walking toward them. In fact, he hardly seemed interested in the release of the infernape at all.

"What do you want with us!?" Mathis blurted out.

The man stopped and stared at them questingly. Something seemed different about him this time. He didn't seem like he was the same person. His eyes had a calmness to them, though they seemed to take in all of his surroundings.

"Is something wrong, young man?" The man said. His voice was the same, but his tone was different. This was a man that spoke with authority. Solomon and Mathis couldn't tell though. Lack of sleep and paranoia taking over.

"You heard him!" Solomon added, "leave us alone!"

The man really looked confused for a moment and then he seemed to realize what was happening. "I'm so sorry. It looks like you're two more victims in the case I'm working."

"Case? What do you mean?" Solomon asked.

"I'm Detective Conan, and I've been working a case about someone that looks and sounds like me and is harassing people. Let me assure you that this person isn't dangerous. They like to torment people for a couple of days during the evening and at night, and then they move on to another victim."

It sounded odd coming from him, but he was a lot more trustworthy than the person they talked to the previous night. He had a completely different presence. "So what are we supposed to do then? He threatened to make us disappear if we sought help."

"Whoever this is sees it as one big game. He's been trying to get his victims to avoid me. I have a theory, but right now it's just that."

"Maybe I can help you with the investigation. The guy came to us last night. And from what you've said, he targets people for more than one night. Maybe we can catch him together."

Detective Conan thought about it for a moment. "Well, so far the person hasn't shown any tendencies to be violent. I just don't think I can risk endangering a civilian."

Solomon spoke up this time. "We aren't just regular trainers. Mathis here just won the Circuit and I was the runner up. The only reason we didn't confront them last night was because our pokemon were still tired from the battle. We didn't want to risk them getting injured."

Detective Conan's eyes flickered for a moment as Solomon spoke. "You said 'them'. All the reported cases only involved one individual. It seems that this is becoming a little more dangerous. What did the other men look like?"

"They were all the same person. He was a bit shorter, and his hair was really short. He was a bit chubbier as well. But he wore the same suit."

The man pulled out his wallet and rummaged through it for a moment, before pulling out a picture. He showed it to them. It was a picture of a group of men, all wearing suits. None of them were smiling, but they didn't appear to be mean. He pointed to the man next to him. "Does this look like the same person?"

The two of them look at the picture and stared at the man for a moment. "That is exactly who it was. But there were three of him."

"That's my partner who is also on the case. It seems they are also trying to toy with us. The first few victims saw someone else, and once I took over the case it was me everyone started to see. Then my partner joined the investigation and it appears they are copying him as well. Now I need to figure out how."

"We would both be willing to help you solve this case. You don't have to worry about protecting us. We are both perfectly capable of doing it ourselves," Solomon said with confidence. He was determined to help now. Not only did he not want to go through that again, he wanted to stop others from going through it to.

"Fine, fine. Since this seems to have escalated, it's probably best that I get it taken care of as soon as possible. Come into my office so we can plan out the night."

* * *

Solomon and Mathis sat in Solomon's hotel room, both shaking from nerves. They spent the morning talking over a plan with Detective Conan and his partner Detective Jarvis. The two detectives were in the security room of the hotel going over last nights footage. They were also waiting for the imposters to return.

Periodically there would be a knock on the door as someone from the hotel staff would check on them. This was something else that the two detectives devised to ensure that the imposters didn't somehow get into the room without their knowing. They also got help from a couple of police officers to watch outside of the hotel from another hotel across the street. Their room was in a position to where they could see inside of the window of Solomon's hotel room as long as the curtains remained open.

"This is pretty nerve wracking. I know they are watching us and making sure we are safe, but I can't shake the feeling that this isn't enough," Mathis said. He was the one to originally come up with the plan, but he wasn't feeling so confident now that the evening was here.

A knock on the door.

They didn't jump in fear like they had the first couple of times. Solomon opened the door, an employee at the hotel asked if everything was okay, and then he moved on. It was the same thing that had happened the last six times and nothing unusual.

"I hope that they don't catch on to us and not show up. I want to help others that are going through this," Solomon said as he sat back down. "These imposters might know more than we think."

Mathis looked over at Biff who was just staring out of the window and smiled. He was hoping to take care of these imposters before the detectives had a chance to join in. They could take them into custody, but he was going to handle them in his own way.

"I won't be a victim. Last night I was a victim and I don't ever want to go through that again," Mathis said to no one in particular.

"This will all be over soon."

Just then, there was another knock. This time the knock wasn't expected. Someone had just checked on them and there would be no reason for it to happen again. They both stared at the door for a moment. The knob then started to jiggle and there was an insane laughter on the other side of the door. "We're back! Come on, let us in. We won't hurt you, too much," Detective Conan's voice said. Only this time they knew it wasn't him.

"Go away!"

They didn't respond with words. Just more laughter. Only this time it came from the entire group.

"I'll take care of this right now!" Mathis proclaimed. Just as he stepped toward the door, they could hear laughter coming from the bathroom.

"Come out!" Solomon ordered.

The imposter stepped through the doorway, a Cheshire grin on his face. He noticed Biff facing toward him and started to laugh again. "So you're not playing around, I see."

"Biff, use Guillotine!"

Just as Biff went went to attack, he was thrown back against the wall with a crash. He was dazed and out of it. Solomon and Mathis looked at each other in confusion. "What just happened?"

"Are you okay Biff?"

The gliscor was able to collect himself and gave Mathis a nod. The imposter moved at blinding speed and opened up the door to let in the imposters of Detective Jarvis. They slowly closed and locked the door behind them. "We told you if you contact anyone, you will disappear," the three imposters said simultaneously.

"Use Guillotine again!" Biff tried to attack but found that he couldn't use the move that was commanded. He was then thrown back into the wall once again, completely dazed and unable to figure out what was going on.

"Natsu, he needs some backup," — Solomon said as he released the infernape. — "use Blaze Kick!"

Natsu charged forward and spun in the air as he attempted to kick one of the imposters of Detective Jarvis. A different imposter jumped in front of the small group and punched him before he could connect.

"That looked like Counter," Solomon questioned aloud. "In fact, I could have sworn that the main imposter used Agility."

"Then what move is the one throwing Biff across the room?"

"I have no idea. But it looks like these non violent imposters are violent now. If only we had enough room to actually fight them off in here."

The imposter of Detective Conan shot forward again at blinding speed. He pretended to punch Natsu, who flinched, and then followed through by actually hitting him and sending him falling back.

There was pounding on the door now as someone tried to get into the room. "This is the Celadon City Police, open up the door. NOW!"

Without warning, Biff shot forward and attacked one of the Detective Jarvis copies with Guillotine. The copy fell to the ground, his eyes were twirling. His body soon faded and a little zorua lay on the ground.

"Is that Zorua? What is going on here?"

The door finally gave in and a golem came barreling through. He was rolled up into a ball and rolling forward at a rapid rate.. "Everyone freeze!" Detective Conan ordered as he burst into the room.

* * *

"Can you believe it was just a Zoroark the entire time?" Solomon laughed. The two of them were walking out of the police station and headed back toward their hotel.

"It was a crazy night, that's for sure."

"It was actually pretty strong. Despite outnumbering us with zorua, the thing was taking on Biff with no problem at all."

"I'm just glad I don't have to face that thing in the Circuits."

The two of them were exhausted. Having had barely any sleep, they planned on getting some much deserved rest.

* * *

 **And there we have it, chapter two. Took longer than I wanted it to in order to get this chapter out. I'm writing all of these on my phone, so it's kind of a hassle. Oh well. Stay tuned for the next chapter. There is definitely more to come**.


	3. The Circuit Champion's Battle

**Welcome back everyone. Today's chapter is a little different. My battles so far have been short lived and between trainers on the bottom rung of the Circuit. Though, Mathis is headed to the next stage. I thought it would be a great time to show the Circuit Champion in action. So this chapter shall showcase a battle between the champion and his challenger who has a massive advantage over the champion. I designed both of these pokemon to be very powerful, in the sense of how my world operates. So status moves work a little differently, though they follow the same effects. You'll notice that in this battle. You'll also notice that I don't use super rare or pokemon that would normally be considered all-powerful. I like to have fun with the underdogs and make them strong. So without further ado, enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 3: Circuit Champion Battle**

* * *

Odin was used to the loud cheers of an arena battle. Thousands of people filled the stands, most of them chanting his name. He was able to drown all of that out and maintain his focus.

He dressed in his usual attire: a plain gray hoodie, gray sweat pants, and black sneakers. He wasn't a flashy person and despite being a champion, he kept to himself. He didn't like being hounded by the media, which was inevitable in his position. So he lived his life the way he wanted to. He dressed how he wanted to. And most importantly, he battled how he wanted to.

His opponent, Warren, was a veteran and someone he could not take lightly. He had battled Warren twice before — once in the Circuit tournaments and again as the defending champion — and he always came out on top. Warren did, however, worry him. He knew of two of Warren's pokemon, and today he was using a third. It wasn't unheard of for other trainers to have more than one pokemon strong enough to compete in the Circuit's but most trainers stuck to one.

Odin of course had at least a dozen or so pokemon to chose from. That was what people feared most about him. He was an excellent trainer who was capable of bringing out a different pokemon each battle. So it was always a surprise which pokemon a trainer was to battle.

As usual he randomly selected his pokemon with a twelve-sided die. This selection put him at a huge disadvantage against Warren's pokemon, but it also happened to be one of his oldest and strongest members. He never changed a selection, no matter what kind of disadvantage he had. He wasn't going to start now.

* * *

Warren stood in the bathroom and stared at himself in the mirror. He had on a blue short sleeve shirt with red sleeves. He also had on a pair of blue jeans and a blue cap. His dark brown hair spilling out from underneath and falling to his shoulders. Behind him was a little pink Pokémon that was levitating and waiting for him.

"Clef, it's time to take him on again. Last time he totally crushed us. It won't happen this time. Vulcan will see to it." The little pink smiled and gave him an approving nod.

The loudspeaker in the restroom went off, announcing Odin to make his entrance. He could hear the crowd from the restroom, which made him a little more nervous than he needed to be. But he knew it was time. He stepped out into the hallway, looking at the light at the end of the tunnel. His dream of being champion was out there.

He grabbed Vulcan's pokeball and raiser it to his face. "You were my very first pokemon. You're also my strongest pokemon. It's your time," he said with a warm smile.

His name was called over the speaker. He hesitated for a moment and took another deep breath before slowly making his way out of the tunnel and into the full view of the thousands of cheering fans. After his eyes adjusted to the light, he noticed the battlefield was full of large boulders and a ground made of rock. Vulcan would easily maneuver around this.

His eyes then raised and caught sight of Odin. Odin didn't look any different than he ever had. He surely didn't look like a champion. His sandy blonde hair was an absolute mess and his cold gray eyes just stared forward. He didn't even look up at Warren or acknowledge he was there.

Odin never acknowledged anyone, so Warren didn't really pay him any mind. He was here to defeat him in battle, that was it. So everything he had to say would be said in this battle.

The announcer spoke after a brief pause and said, "This will be a Circuit battle for the title of Circuit Champion. When either pokemon faints, the opposing pokemon will be declared the winner and their trainer will be either crowned champion or retain the title! So without further ado, release your pokemon!"

Warren tossed his pokeball into the air first. There was a flash of white light before revealing a quadruped badger-like pokemon. The pokemon stood into its hind legs before releasing a powerful flame on its back. Everyone gasped as they noticed that there was something very different about this typlosion. It's front was still beige, but instead of a navy blue backside, it was a softer red color.

"And here it is, Warren's shiny Typlosion!" The crowd erupted into cheers having witnessed the release of such a rare pokemon. The typlosion dropped to all fours and stared at Odin in anticipation. He was already worked up and he looked like he was ready to explode.

Odin grabbed the only pokeball that he had with him — which was customary and part of the rules of Circuit Battles — and tossed it into the air. After the white light subsided, a cicada-like pokemon was revealed. It danced quickly from side-to-side in the air, showing no real concern of the opposing pokemon despite the huge disadvantage it was in.

The crowd roared and started chanting Odin's name. His Ninjask was very popular and known for having unmatched speed. They had witnessed it defeating other Fire, Electric, Flying, and Rock-Types many times before and this battle they presumed to be no different. "And here it is, you all know it! You all love it! Rocket is the champion's choice! Let the battle begin!" The crowd went silent at the command.

Warren wasted no time at all jumping into the battle. "Let's follow the usual routine. Use Sunny Day and then attack with Eruption!" The already intense sun became more intense. The air became much thicker and hotter, making it harder to breath. This atmosphere would be tough on Water-Types, but it was just as tough for a pokemon like ninjask.

"Use Agility and dodge it with Double Team," Odin responded casually. He was already aware of how powerful Warren was, and knew that panicking was the wrong move. He was also aware that Rocket had not once been hit in battle since he became champion. The ninja pokemon has been dodging every attack thrown at it in order to survive. He trained it specifically for high speed battles and was probably the fastest pokemon alive at this point.

Rocket moved left and right, increasing his already impressive speed. Then out of nowhere there were dozens of copies. Vulcan looked at all of the bugs in his path and released an flame that burst and spread out to hit each and every copy of Rocket. Just as he released the flame, Rocket appeared behind him in a flash.

"He's right behind you! Use Rock Tomb!" Warren ordered.

"Counter it with Aerial Ace," Odin continued. He still didn't seem all that interested in this battle. Though everyone already knew that this was the attitude he always carried. Even when battles got tough, he never got emotional about it. When questioned about it in an interview, he said it was simple, he trusted his pokemon.

Large rocks that weren't quite the size of boulders shot up from the ground and flew toward Rocket. A faint white aura surrounded its body and suddenly it started sipping around the battlefield, dodging every single rock that flew its way. It then shot forward and smashed against Vulcan, knocking him into the air.

"Use Agility again," Odin ordered. Rocket moved from side-to-side again, further building its speed. Meanwhile, its speed also continued to increase thanks to its ability, Speed Boost. The ninja pokemon started zipping around the battlefield on its own, circling the volcano pokemon in an odd pattern.

Vulcan clenched his teeth and tried following Rocket with his eyes. The flame on his back intensified and steam started to rise as he grew more and more angry.

"Keep calm, Vulcan. We won't lose out to a bug!" Warren called, trying to calm his pokemon. "Release all of that anger with another Eruption!"

"Use Double Team again," Odin responded.

Vulcan let fire erupt from his entire body, but had no idea where to aim it as he noticed ninjasks everywhere. He tried to spread the flame to hit them all, but they were too fast and too spread out. After using the move, the move, he released it again. Not all of the clones were gone, so he knew that it wasn't gone.

"Before it releases another torrent of flames, use Aerial Ace again."

There were about eight clones of Rocket left, all of them glowing white and shooting toward Vulcan. He tried to release another Eruption, but was struck with by the real ninjask before it had time to react.

"Don't let it get away! Attack with Swift!"

"Counter it with Aerial Ace, and then use Leech Life."

Star shape rays fired from the typlosion, all of them like heat-seeking missiles aimed straight the cicada-like pokemon. Rocket covered itself in a white aura and shot around like a literal rocket, smashing into each star beam and blocking them from dealing damage.

"Now quickly follow up with Solar Beam!"

Thanks to Sunny Day being active, Vulcan didn't have to charge up the attack. He opened his mouth and collected sunlight and fired the attack with no lag time. Rocket was still blocking the attack's and hadn't the time to use his own commanded move just yet. Noticing the ray of concentrated light headed toward him, he swiftly dodged to the right, narrowly escaping damage.

"Hurry and use Eruption!"

It was too late. In an instant, Rocket latched itself onto Vulcan's neck and started draining it of energy. The attack didn't do too much damage, but it was enough to replenish Rocket of the little damage he took blocking the Swift attack.

Vulcan stomped his foot forward and released his flames toward Rocket without warning. He was slow to release it — at least compared to Rocket — but the sudden release of the flame left the ninja pokemon with nowhere to run.

"Dig," Odin said simply. Rocket fired into the ground just in time and avoided being hit by the attack.

"Oh no! With the piled up damage that Typlosion has taken, this Super Effective move could end it all!" The announcer said in excitement.

"Use Burn Up. Send all of your flames into the hole that he dug!"

Vulcan was covered by flames as he stepped forward and hovered over the hole in the ground. He then released everything he had, pouring the flames into the ground. He started panting after the last of his flames were released. Just as he finished, Rocket shot out from underneath him and slammed into him and sent him flying through the air.

Warren smirked. "Thanks to Burn Up, that's no longer Super Effective. It still did damage, but that damage is completely neutral because he has no type! Use Rock Tomb!"

"Dodge it with Double Team, then finish this battle with Aerial Ace."

Dozens of ninjask started zipping around at high speed. Even the images were avoiding the rocks. They all started to glow white and randomly they shot toward Vulcan. Vulcan flinched and tried defending himself with the boulders, but each time it ended up being a fake.

Vulcan was starting to feel dizzy from watching this when suddenly he felt Rocket slamming into him and sending him crashing into one of the boulders on the arena. He lifted his head and managed to make it to all fours.

"Good job! We haven't lost yet! Use Swift!"

"Aerial Ace."

Just as Vulcan was about to attack, he collapsed to the ground, exhausted. His eyes were open, glaring at Rocket with pure malice. His body just wouldn't work with him. He wasn't ready to give up. He still had fight in him. He put all of his might into getting to his feet.

"Typlosion is unable to battle. The winner is Ninjask!"

The crowd once more erupted into cheers. It was deafening. Both trainers sent out a red recall beam and called back their pokemon with words of praise. The two of them met in the center of the arena and shook hands. Odin held onto his title and Rocket once again took no damage from the battle.


End file.
